Once again, Ferrari did not make a good impression. On the contrary, Max Verstappen has become the world champion for the third consecutive time. During the Lusail Sprint Race, the official verdict was delivered, a result already anticipated since last March. The Dutchman pushed to the maximum to try to win the 100km mini-race and secure the world title on Saturday. At the top of the classification, we have the first driver born in the third millennium to win a race, albeit a shortened one: Oscar Piastri.
The Australian driver made the most of his pole position, turning it into an excellent victory. The key decision that led to this win was regarding the yellow tires he started with. After initially losing the lead to Russell, who had the softer Soft tires at the start, Oscar Piastri benefited from the degradation of the red-banded tires to regain the lead.
Ferrari opted to fit the softest tire compound on both cars. The goal was to save a set of yellow tires for today’s race since it could involve three pit stops. However, this choice did not pay off due to the high tire degradation, as we will see later, suffered by the Pirelli C3 compounds.
Mercedes employed a split strategy: the Soft tire for Russell and the Medium for Hamilton. However, this different approach to the race did not allow the Brackley team to place a car on the podium. Nevertheless, the gap with Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship has increased once again.
Qatar GP 2023/F1 Sprint Analysis: SF-23, Tire Degradation on Reds Tends to Exclude It from the Race
The graph regarding tire degradation is not entirely indicative due to the multiple interruptions caused by Bernd Mayländer in the Safety Car. However, during the 8 laps run by the drivers under examination, the comparisons are quite meaningful in terms of what to expect in tomorrow’s race.
The significant difference in performance is solely due to the drivers’ tire choices. Those who started with the Medium compound managed to have tires that improved their performance as the car’s fuel load decreased. Notice the curve’s trend for tire consumption on the first three drivers at the finish. Unlike their competitors, it tends to decrease.
Conversely, the drivers who started with the red-banded tires managed their races differently. In particular, the difficulty faced by the Ferrari drivers is evident. The two SF-23 cars were the best at the start, but as the laps progressed, the tires suffered linear and notably high degradation.
The Ferrari drivers finished the race with a time on the last lap that was 4 seconds slower than the leading duo. The Safety Car helped minimize the damage for the Maranello team, providing one certainty regarding today’s race: the Soft tires do not react well to the lateral forces exerted by the Losail circuit, degrading rapidly and visibly.
Qatar GP 2023/Sprint Shootout Analysis: MCL-60 Excels Both Technically and in Track Limit Compliance
Lastly, let’s focus on what happened during Saturday afternoon in the Sprint Shootout. The following graph illustrates the lap time, throttle, and speed during the various fast laps. Unlike traditional qualifying sessions, drivers are required to use the medium tire for Q1 and Q2 and the soft tire in Q3. The narrowing of the track at Turn 13 was a key feature of the afternoon, leading to the cancellation of many times due to track limits.
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McLaren was the best car of the afternoon, allowing both drivers to start from the front row in the mini-race. First of all, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri deserve credit for their discipline in keeping the car within the white line. Different markers indicate the two different types of tires used by the drivers. Generally, an increase in the average throttle percentage can be observed over the course of the qualifying session.
This improvement is due to the evolution of the track. It can be seen that between Q2 and Q3, the drivers increased their throttle percentage by up to three points. However, Norris, in his final attempt, achieved his time with a much lower throttle percentage than his competitors. Finally, we see that none of the teams stand out in terms of top speed. Maximum speeds are within a range of 6 km/h.
The decisions made during the Qatari night will significantly influence tomorrow’s race. As we have seen, tire degradation is very high. Making three mandatory pit stops, should Pirelli’s issues be confirmed, could open up very interesting tactical scenarios.
Source: Leonardo Pasqual for FUnoanalisitecnica
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